Hours after the Supreme Court declared Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Kuldeep Kumar as the rightful winner, overturning the results of the Chandigarh mayoral elections held on January 30, the AAP-Congress coalition hailed the verdict by launching a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing them of indulging in cheating and vote tampering.
The AAP termed the verdict a big victory for democracy. Newly declared Mayor, Kuldeep Kumar, thanked the top court, stating, “I would like to thank the Supreme Court. This is a win for the people of Chandigarh and the INDIA alliance. This shows that the BJP is not unbeatable, and we can defeat them if we stay united.”
Chandigarh Congress President Harmohinder Singh Lucky thanked the Supreme Court for declaring AAP councillor Kuldeep Kumar as the winner and Mayor of Chandigarh, “I would like to thank the Supreme Court, CJI DY Chandrachud, and other judges. They have shown that ‘nyay’ is still alive in the country. Our workers were very disappointed. Eight of our votes were declared invalid by the presiding officer Anil Masih, who was appointed by the BJP. This is a historic day for Chandigarh.”
Delhi Minister and AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj commented on the Supreme Court declaring AAP councillor Kuldeep Kumar as the winner and Mayor of Chandigarh, saying, “The biggest political party in the world, BJP, was seen doing malpractices – on camera – in a mayoral election.”
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He further stated, “This is a matter of concern for the country. What would the party be doing where there is no camera and no microphone? How can you trust the Central Government in all those places? The Supreme Court has exposed the Central Government in this matter… Central Government’s topmost advocate represented the Presiding Officer before the Supreme Court..”
AAP Chandigarh President Sunny Ahluwalia mentioned the Supreme Court’s acceptance of the fact that eight votes were declared invalid in a wrong way, and the Chief Justice also stated that those eight votes declared invalid by the presiding officer will be considered valid.
In its Tuesday verdict, the Supreme Court set aside the results of the Chandigarh mayoral elections, declaring them unlawful as announced by the Returning Officer Anil Masih on January 30. The court held the Presiding Officer guilty of misdemeanour and declared AAP candidate Kuldeep Kumar as the validly elected Mayor of Chandigarh Municipal Corporation.
Also Read:BJP wins Chandigarh mayor election against AAP-Congress combine, upset for INDIA bloc
“The conduct of the Presiding Officer has to be deprecated at two levels. Firstly, he has unlawfully altered the course of the Mayoral election. Secondly, in making a solemn statement before this Court on 19 Feb, the Presiding Officer expressed falsehood for which he must be held accountable. For the above reasons, we have come to the conclusion that the results declared by the Presiding Officer are unlawful and have to be set aside. We order accordingly,” the court noted in its judgment.
The Supreme Court was examining the ballot papers used in the Chandigarh mayoral elections held on January 30, following allegations of vote tampering by the Returning Officer, Anil Masih.
The bench was convened to address a plea by AAP councillor Kuldeep Kumar, challenging the decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court not to immediately stay the election result, where a BJP candidate was declared the Mayor of Chandigarh.
On January 30, Manoj Sonkar of the BJP secured victory in the mayoral election with 16 votes, surpassing the 12 votes garnered by the Congress-AAP candidate, Kumar. Despite the AAP-Congress alliance having a majority in the house with 20 members, the rejection of eight votes as invalid significantly impacted the alliance’s majority.